Amen Dunes

Love (Sacred Bones)

3 Stars

RECORDED in Montreal and Brooklyn with members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the third record from New York-based Damon McMahon trades in the kind of foggy US psychedelic folk music favoured by Kurt Vile and Beachwood Sparks.

A swampy late ’60s vibe threads its way through the album.

The hypnotic country-tinged single Lonely Richard lifts the Velvet Underground’s droning viola, while Rocket Flare is a nifty little number backed by subdued guitars and drums.

Ever present are McMahon’s downbeat and echo-laden vocals, recorded with so much reverb it sounds like he’s singing in a grain silo.

McMahon unapologetically wears his lo-fi indie credentials on his sleeve and, with many of the songs sounding like incomplete demos, no doubt some will dismiss Love as unprofessional and unfocused.

But those more attuned to the album’s relaxed vibe may well simply see it as a warmly recorded, glorious mess.